Winning the Game
by Princess Angel Rose
Summary: Alternate ending to the House of Games. Casey figures out what Derek is going to do and tricks him so that they do win. When confronted, she and Derek play another game, and she wins the prize. Dasey.


**A/N: Okay, here are all of the things wrong with my life: I got max 4 hours sleep last night and watched the same episode of Life With Derek twice, I do not own Life With Derek or any other TV show, and I'm surrounded by idiots who think that I do and want to sue me for it. Come on! Take a hint, people. This is an alternate ending to "House of Games", the episode I watched at 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.**

She had figured him out for the first time and that, she believed, was the first step in defeating the evil power known as Derek Venturi. He was using reverse psychology or something like it and he expected her to react and play into his hands. He was a criminal mastermind and he had tried to manipulate her before, but it wasn't going to work this time. She was not going to let him win.

Casey bit her lip after Lizzie left her room. Something was up. Derek had probably gotten the monitor away from Marti, and even if he was sure, he could guess that she had heard that what Marti said. That meant that, as much as she hated it, he could know that they were listening. And with even the possibility of an event such as that, Derek would have a back up plan.

Casey absent-mindedly shuffled a deck of cards and a two of spades fell out. She stared down at the card as if it was fascinating, and then as if she didn't even see it. She tried to remember the tricks that had been played on her back home when she played cards. Most of the time no one cheated, but there was that one game she had played for the third grade title. Her opponent had…

That was it, Casey thought. That's what he was going to do. She shook her head. That is not going to happen. She left her room, knowing they only had a few more minutes before the game, and made her way to Derek's room. He answered immediately when she knocked. Marti and Edwin were long gone and Derek looked at Casey smugly.

"What do you want, MacDonald? I need to stay focused so I can beat you at the next game."

She smirked. "Games of chance don't require focus. Unless you had something up your sleeve in ways of cheating."

He laughed. "Nothing up my sleeves," he half-joked in a cocky manner, rolling up both sleeves to prove his point. "But I _will _win, MacDonald. You might as well give up now. I always win."

Her smirk got more devious. "Not this time, Derek." She took a step forward and, for the first time since the games began, Derek looked flustered. "What's wrong? Scared you'll lose?"

He laughed again, and then stopped. "_The_ Derek never loses." Softer, he said, "So what are you doing here?"

She pushed him back into his room and went in after him, slamming the door with her foot when she was inside. Her hands were clenched. She had to do this. She grabbed his shirt around the collar and pulled him to her, crashing her lips onto his. He responded immediately, as if he weren't entirely shocked. He pushed her against the door and deepened the kiss as she trailed her fingers through his hair and down his neck. Casey gripped his arms just as they tightened around her waist and then she pulled back and smiled, knowing that she had won the biggest war of all.

"I believe _The_ Derek just lost," she whispered, sneering, and then she pushed him off of her so that she could pull the door open and disappear into the hall. He just stood there for a minute, shocked beyond belief now that it was over. By the time he realized it had really happened and he went into the hall, she was gone. When he heard his name he turned, hoping it was her.

"Hey, you ready?" Edwin asked. Derek, disturbed, nodded and followed his brother down the stairs after they grabbed their sister out of her room. When they were all seated at the table, Casey was looking at him self-righteously. He covered up the fact that his heart was still racing with his façade of coolness. Casey began to speak and, as he tried to keep his focus pinned to her words, he was watching her lips—her soft, sweet-tasting lips.

"Okay," Casey spoke calmly. "Looks like this'll be the last game. I bet my _coat hook_ for Derek's middle shelf in the bathroom cabinet. Venturi's, pick your game." She leered at him.

"High card, low card," Derek stated predictably. Her grin became more self-assured.

"Which one wins?" she asked, though she knew what he was going to say.

"High card."

She looked at Lizzie, who nodded. This was just fine. Which ever method of cheating he was going to use, it wasn't going to work. "Ready to deal?" he asked, also sure of himself. She did so and he spoke again. "You wanna make things interesting?"

She cocked her head. This hadn't been part of the plan. "How?"

In his usual cocky manner, he explained, "We up the stakes."

She shook her head. "Forget it. Besides," she laughed inwardly. Who was he fooling? "You don't have the marbles to up the stakes _with._"

He spoke softly, but still omniscient. "You humiliated me at my own competition." _'And in my own bedroom, too,'_ he added. "The least you can do is hear me out."

As if she sensed that it was about more than just the games, she answered shortly, "Fine. Explain."

"If I win," he did as commanded, "My team gets all the marbles." She opened her mouth to protest. What could possibly equal all the marbles for her team? "But," he persisted, knowing she had something else in mind. "If you win, your team gets all the marbles, and…the games closet to yourself."

Edwin immediately protested, but Lizzie loved the idea. Casey smiled at her sister and agreed, saying that they needed the extra room. It wasn't like there was any chance of them losing anyway. She reached out her hand and Derek shook it. Neither let on how it felt to be holding that position, touching almost intimately. "Deal," she said, covering her true feelings. "High card wins." At this she flipped her card, revealing a queen. She smirked. There was no way that two could beat this. Even if this wasn't her best game, she had gotten pretty lucky. "Beat that." For once, she was as cocky as Derek usually was. She deserved to be. She had finally won.

He grinned, as if he knew what she was thinking but thought better of it. She hadn't won yet. He picked up his card and carried it behind his head, catching a glimpse of it before he switched it with the card he had in his collar. A five. That wouldn't do. He pulled out the other card, assured of his victory, and laid it down without looking. "An—"

Derek was stopped as Edwin said his name, his eyes glued to the card in disbelief. Derek looked down as well and his eyes widened. It couldn't be. A two of clubs. How was that possible?

He looked up at Casey with distrust and glared when he realized what had happened. She had kissed him to trick him. She smiled sweetly—deceivingly—and rose from the table. "The five prime spots _and_ the games closet are now MacDonald turf. Thank you Derek." Edwin gaped.

"But Derek _always_ wins! How is this possible?"

Casey said nothing, just ascended the stairs with Lizzie on her heels. Derek brooded angrily for at least two minutes, then raced up the stairs and to Casey's room, slinging the door opened without permission. "What do you want Derek?" she asked, annoyed.

He pointed a finger at her accusingly. "You tricked me. You _kissed _me, and then you tricked me! I can't believe you would stoop so low!"

She looked at him incredulously. "Me? I consider low to be tricking a five year old into using _loaded dice._ You don't even _try_ to set a good example for your siblings…"

"And you go around kissing yours," he blamed her. She was about to dispute the claim when he shook his head and continued. "Yeah, I know. _Step_-siblings. But you _did_ kiss me. What's your excuse?"

Her face contorted the way it always did when she was about to blow up at him, but then something clicked in her head. "I don't have to explain myself to you. Besides, you _liked_ it. Didn't you Derek?"

"Okay, that is not the point." He was truly ill at ease and Casey was prideful that she had ruffled him so much. "_You're_ the one who kissed me."

She smiled, pleasantly surprised. "But you _did_ like it! You didn't deny it, Venturi. I'm forced to believe that you really did enjoy that kiss."

He groaned. There was no use arguing that one. He had already subconsciously confirmed it. "You want the truth? Yes, I did like it. But that doesn't matter because you are my stepsister and I'm The Derek. Sorry but I can't be a one-woman man."

She looked at him fiercely. He didn't have to be so cruel. "Get out," she ordered coldly.

"Casey," he tried to soothe.

"Now!" she exclaimed. He, being Derek, didn't listen. He sat down on the edge of her bed where she already sat.

"I have a proposition for you MacDonald."

As much as she hated, she couldn't help but be curious. "I'm listening Venturi."

"One more game, all or nothing." She was about to say that she wasn't risking her marbles again, especially when he had nothing else to offer, but then he went on. "Rock, paper, scissors. You and me. If you win, you can pretend that _us_ doesn't exist. If I win, however, you have to face it and…well, we can figure that one out later."

She narrowed her eyes at him and agreed. They both held their fists out and shook them to "rock, paper, scissors" and Casey, remembering what Derek told Edwin about always choosing rock, picked paper. He was a bit cleverer than that though. Instead of picking rock like she predicted, he picked scissors knowing that she was going to pick the thing that beat rock. He smiled mischievously.

"I win."

She tried to fight it, but she smiled back. As he leaned down and kissed her, she discovered that she was okay with losing the game just this once. She may have lost the game, but she had won the prize. It was a win-win situation. She knew she had Derek's heart and he knew that he had her to himself.


End file.
